Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Little Rock, AR
Issued by NWS Little Rock, AR
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630 FXUS64 KLZK 062322 AFDLZK Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Little Rock AR 622 PM CDT Sat Jul 6 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Monday) Issued at 134 PM CDT Sat Jul 6 2024 Early afternoon visible satellite and surface observational data showed a stalled out and thermally diffuse frontal boundary just south of the Arkansas border with Louisiana extending west into North Texas and then northeast approximately up the Mississippi River. While the drier air has left many an Arkansan ebullient this weekend, all good things must come to an end, and summer in Arkansas is rarely characterized by dry air. As for the cause for change in this instance it appears to be what most weather enthusiasts have their eyes on recently, tropical cyclone Beryl. As Beryl barrels northwards to the Texas coast, it will cause an increase in southerly flow and moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico north into east Texas and Louisiana. This will result in a push of tropical moisture northwards, nudging the diffuse moisture boundary north towards southern Arkansas. This boundary movement is expected to occur as early as Sunday, but tropical moisture is not expected to return across all of Arkansas until Beryl has moved inland sometime on Monday. As the boundary moves north, the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms will move in concert. For Sunday, confidence in the boundary moving north into south Arkansas is low, so only have 20-30 POP in there during the daylight hours. From Sunday night into Monday, those rain chances increase in magnitude and coverage as tropical moisture returns across the entire state by lunchtime Monday. Showers and storms will be a possibility for most areas during this time, but it`s not looking like a continual rain out or anything. Just periods of rain and storms followed by some clearing. More persistent rainfall is expected as Beryl continues to move farther inland and deflects to the east towards the Arklatex area on Tuesday. Beryl is expected to slow down quite a bit as it approaches the Arklatex area and we should start experiencing heavy bands of tropical showers and perhaps isolated thunderstorms across the state beginning Tuesday morning and increasing in persistence and intensity through early Wednesday morning. Tropical moisture will be shunted off to the east by Beryl`s remnant wind field by Wednesday late morning. The Winfield will be most pronounced over Arkansas from Tuesday through the day on Wednesday as we will continue to see some enhanced winds even after the tropical moisture and rain has pushed off to the east. In terms of the magnitude of the winds, 10-15 mph sustained winds and some high gusts are what we are generally expecting. Outside of winds being slightly stronger than normal, no wind impacts are expected across the state. However widespread heavy rain could at least lead to some localized flooding, perhaps necessitating a flood watch before the tropical rains arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday. Overall anywhere from 2-6 inches of rain are possible across the state. The heaviest rains are currently forecast to fall from central Arkansas to points immediately west and north. 3-5 inches of rain is most likely in this corridor with isolated totals up to 6" possible. Two inch totals are more likely across far northwest and most of southeast Arkansas. Of course, it`s important not to hang everything on this forecast right now as the heaviest rain corridor is ultimately dependent on when and where Beryl makes landfall along the Texas coast. Once we know that, confidence will increase on the exact path of heaviest rains across Arkansas. However, assuming rainfall peaks out somewhere in the 4-6" widespread flooding and flooding impacts are not expected. So far rainfall totals this summer have been below normal, but vegetation remains largely healthy. Between a receptive soil and vegetation just looking for a drink, the ground can, theoretically, take a decent amount of rainfall before significant runoff and flooding is realized. Cavanaugh .LONG TERM... (Monday Night through next Saturday) Issued at 134 PM CDT Sat Jul 6 2024 Post Beryl, the forecast drys out once again as breezy northerly winds bring a drier continental airmass across Arkansas. As a result the end of the upcoming week looks like it will recapture some of the ebullience of the past couple of days until we begin to heat up again headed into next weekend. Moisture will slowly increase across the state by next Sunday, returning us to our normal Arkansan summer heat and humidity. Cavanaugh && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 616 PM CDT Sat Jul 6 2024 A cold front remains to the south of the state with mainly light winds in place. Widespread VFR conditions will continue with only high level moisture expected through the period. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Batesville AR 67 93 72 90 / 0 0 10 60 Camden AR 70 94 74 92 / 0 20 10 50 Harrison AR 66 92 68 84 / 0 0 20 70 Hot Springs AR 70 95 74 90 / 0 10 20 60 Little Rock AR 71 95 77 91 / 0 10 10 50 Monticello AR 72 94 76 93 / 0 30 10 50 Mount Ida AR 67 93 70 88 / 0 10 20 60 Mountain Home AR 67 92 69 86 / 0 0 20 70 Newport AR 68 93 73 91 / 0 0 10 50 Pine Bluff AR 70 94 75 92 / 10 10 10 40 Russellville AR 70 94 73 88 / 0 0 20 60 Searcy AR 67 94 72 91 / 0 0 10 60 Stuttgart AR 70 92 76 91 / 0 10 10 40 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...66 LONG TERM....66 AVIATION...56